SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Five different Hawks scored a goal and three more added an assist as the Saint Anselm men's hockey team handled Skidmore College, 5-3, at Saratoga Springs City Rink Saturday afternoon.
Senior forward Joey Agliato (Hauppage, N.Y.), sophomore forward Nick Leonard (Methuen, Mass.) and sophomore defenseman Peter Sikalis (Acton, Mass.) all picked up their first goals of the season Saturday, while senior forwards Sean Jenkins (Boston, Mass.) and Johnny Daniels (Andover, Mass.) added insurance goals in the Hawks' offensive outburst over the Thoroughbreds.
Quick and consecutive strikes worked in Friday night's 5-4 win over Castleton, and Saint Anselm (2-2, 2-2 ECAC East) repeated that effort Saturday with another offensive barrage.
Despite being outshot 11-7, Skidmore (2-3, 1-3 ECAC East) rung the bell in the first period while skating to a 1-0 lead at the first intermission. An early second period hooking penalty on Daniels gave the Thoroughbreds a chance to take a commanding lead, but it was the Hawks who took to the offensive.
Senior defenseman Matt Buckley (Canton, Mass.) found Agliato for the Hawks' first short-handed goal of the year, coming with over a minute left of Skidmore's power play. Just as Daniels' penalty expired, Leonard put away an unassisted goal and Sikalis tacked on his score on assists from freshman forward Justin Longo (Wakefield, Mass.) and sophomore forward Brendon Kerrigan (Boston, Mass.), capping off a streak of three goals scored in a 3-minute, 11-second span for Saint Anselm.
Skidmore added a power play goal to end the period, but Jenkins put away the would-be unassisted game-winner at the 11:12 mark of the third period and despite a Thoroughbred goal a minute later, Agliato found Daniels to put away an empty-net goal to seal the 5-3 win.
A little time away from campus seemed to do the Saint Anselm men's hockey team some good—particularly on the offensive side of the ice. After scoring just one goal in its home-opening weekend, the Hawks erupted for 10 goals and 24 points in this weekend's road trip to the Adirondacks. The last time Saint Anselm posted consecutive outputs of at least five goals was No. 23 and Dec. 4 of last season.
Freshman goaltender Shane Joyce (Pembroke, Mass.) took his second win in goal for the Hawks, improving to 2-1 overall in his rookie season. Joyce tallied 17 saves between the pipes Saturday as the Hawks outshot Skidmore 27-20 on the day.
With the pair of wins, Saint Anselm kept pace in the early Eastern College Athletic Conference Men's East league standings by evening its record with Saturday's victory. Only Babson and UMass-Boston—the Hawks' pair of opponents last weekend—remain unbeaten through two weeks of league action.
The Hawks will return to Sullivan Arena this weekend for a home double-feature, hosting Norwich Friday evening and Saint Michael's Saturday afternoon. Both contests will be the second half of a double-header with the women's program.
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